What We Do

Ohio Voice is the “c3 table” or “civic engagement table” in Ohio – an affiliate of State Voices nationally since 2008. Our mission is to support and grow the ecosystem of non-profit, non-partisan organizations doing year-round civic engagement with underrepresented communities in order to win progressive governance that will improve people’s lives.

We Help our partners grow their impact

We help with everything from building strong email lists all the way to critical tools like VAN and regularly-updated data about demographics, voter registration, and absentee ballot requests and returns.

We also provide data analysis support – from planning where to target voter registration programs based on registration rates and volunteer density to assessing program effectiveness.

We offer assistance with developing strategies and tools for a compelling web presence to mobilize communities using digital media. We also support pitching stories, writing and placing LTEs and op-eds, developing communications strategies, and building narratives.

We connect organizers with new tools and ideas through our monthly Lunch & Learns, as well as other trainings on organizing concepts and digital tools. We also offer organizers monthly sessions with trained healers through our “inhale/exhale” series.

We coordinate voter contact programs focused on BIPOC (Black, indigenous, people of color) and young people. To secure solid voter turnout, we also identify funding gaps and program opportunities throughout the year.

Ohio Voice currently sponsors 10 Ohio-based organizations with operational, accounting, project, and development support.

We raise money for ecosystem goals and collective plans, then re-grant resources to partners based on available funds. We have re-granted over 2 million dollars between 2018 and 2023.

We Support Our Progressive Ecosystem

In 2020 and 2021, we held a leadership development program called the Vision for Ohio Fellowship. Our first class in 2020 had 24 emerging leaders (23 of whom are BIPOC), including 4 weekend workshops over 6 months. In 2021, we had 15 participants who were 100% BIPOC. Due to the pandemic, the 2021 fellowship took place over 7 weeks in a hybrid model.

In 2022, we worked in partnership with the Ohio Transformation Fund and Liberation in a Generation to hold the Ohio Public Safety Transformation Studio, working with leaders from 16 organizations.

​​In 2023, we partnered with SpadeWork for a two-part organizing program with 5 fellows.

The Ohio Voter Rights Coalition (OVRC)  is a network of non-partisan local, state, and national voting advocates dedicated to ensuring that our elections are modern, secure and accessible to all Ohioans.

OVRC runs Ohio’s Election Protection program and specifically works to advance proactive voting reforms, voter education and empowerment, voter registration, jail voting, fair district maps, and campaign finance reform.

The Ohio Fair Courts Alliance is a partnership between Ohio Voice and Common Cause Ohio to build a court system that treats all people with dignity, respect, and fairness with a diverse bench of knowledgeable judges who decide cases on their merits. In order to achieve this vision, Ohio needs and deserves independent, impartial, and ethical courts.

We’ve created a speakers bureau in order to explain in everyday language how our court system works in Ohio. This bureau also provides a forum for members of the legal and non-legal community to exchange views about common concerns about our justice system. Finally, this organization motivates citizens to take action to strengthen our courts.

The What’s Good Ohio?! podcast is a project of Ohio Voice and Policy Matters Ohio. Each episode, we tell the world what’s good, here in Ohio, uplifting the work and stories of organizers and activists around the state building collective power year-round. Listen to What’s Good Ohio?! wherever you find your podcasts!

In 2020, Ohio Voice participated in the Ohio Census Advocacy Coalition to ensure a fair and accurate count in Ohio. We funded 35 organizations, and provided resources, digital tools and platforms, and meeting space for all organizations doing Census work across the state.

We Build On new ideas and Experiments

As part of our work around landscape analysis, we work to identify and support ballot initiative efforts that can further our mission.

Ohio Voice offers technical assistance and strategic planning to help your organizations build annual or a multi-year vision of where your organization is headed. We help by facilitating strategic planning sessions to build out your campaigns and  civic engagement programming considering your goals and needs. From there, we offer weekly or biweekly technical assistance sessions to make sure you stay on track.